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An Essay On Three Rebellious Figures — страница 3 | Referat.ru

An Essay On Three Rebellious Figures — страница 3

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we read the epic. Milton is trying to tell us, Satan??s, and the Puritans?? or bourgeois?? wills are unconquerable. Song Jiang is a figure that arouses much argument and dispute. Some say the story of Song Jiang is trying to tell us rebellion is not the way out and one should be loyal to the emperor at that time, what does Song Jiang do is the best choice. Some say Song Jiang??s loyalty to the emperor ends the glorious history of the heroes of the marshes and Song Jiang is the one to blame.?? In literary world, only the greatest figures are worth of much criticism. Song Jiang arouses critics interests because his nature and his deeds is the representation of the time. Although under the cloak of fairytale, The Pilgrimage to the West sure is not standing only on the height of

children??s story and the monkey king is not merely a funny being monkeying around. He lives in reality. The author??s intention is to create a figure that shows no mercy and cowardice to the magnates. (3) Both Satan and the monkey king are very proud of themselves. In Satan??s speech to the angels, there are no words showing his esteem to the God. He describes the God as a tyrant. When the monkey king is fighting with the immortals in the Asgard, he calls the God as ??the old thing??. And he never shows his esteem to the immortals except to the biggest Bodhisattvas. They think that they are superior, at least equal, to the Gods. However Song Jiang is not the same case. He is very loyal to the emperor. An imperials edict can make him do anything. Some may say that??s because

Paradise Lost and The Pilgrimage to the West are fairytales while Heroes of the Marshes is based on somewhat reality. Yes, man in reality always has his weakness, and the weakness is due to his social and historical background and his personality. Maybe that??s why people like to read fairytales. Satan is a great hero when he addresses his fellow angels. He says: In dubious Battle on the Plains of Heav??n, And shook his throne. What though the field be lost? All is lost; the unconquerable Will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield: And what is the else to be overcome? (Line104-110 Book I) Although trapped in Hell, he never loses his courage and ambition. But it is only in the first two books of the Paradise Lost that Satan seems heroic. There

is grandeur but no heroism in his later soliloquies and after the seduction of Eve he departs to Hell, leaving to world to his vice-gerents Sin and Death. The first shock to any admiration for him in a reader??s mind comes when he meets his allegorical daughter Sin and his incestuously begotten grandson Death at Hell??s gates (Book II 678-883).???? There is no doubt of Milton??s intent to degrade him, step by step, down to the scene of his second and involuntary appearance in serpent form in Book X. In Heroes of the Marshes, we see Song Jiang as a great hero when all the one hundred and eight heroes and heroines gather in the Liang Shan Bo. Before Song Jiang go to Liang Shan Bo, he is very generous to the people, after he goes there, he is very kind to his fellowmen and fights

together with them. But at the end of the story he betrays many of his fellows?? will and leads them to the unhappy ending. After we read the whole story of the monkey king we cannot but call him a great hero. He succeeds in fighting with the evils and finally ends his story with a gratifying ending. He is a big winner. However, the readers of Paradise Lost and Heroes of the Marshes are bewildered: after reading these two books, they remember the first parts of the stories much clearer than the ending. The heroic deed and speech give them the deepest impression. When they think about Satan and Song Jiang, they still take them as great rebels. Here the culture backgrounds must have their influence. According to Aristotle, western poetry should put emphases on the imitation,

conflict, structure plot and characteristics whereas Chinese put more emphases on the moral content of the stories. Some say Paradise Lost is an epic built out of dramas. From Ben Johnson to Shakespeare, western playwright began to put much more emphases on the characteristics of the characters than before. Hamlet is the best example. In Milton??s period, characterization was of great importance. God is unsurpassed, omnipotent and omnipresent while Satan is the father of all the evils. If we set our eyes only on the moral content of the Paradise Lost, Satan is nothing but a devil. What westerners treasure is his nature, the nature of strong-willed beings. Satan??s speech is the best testimony. Chinese Classic novels always start with a break and change of a peaceful situation. A